We hope to raise £20,000 through the Big Give for our Frequent Flyer Levy campaign. Donate, click here
We have very little carbon left in the jar if we are to stop climate breakdown. To limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, a level that would still cause far-reaching and widespread climate damage, the UK's emissions of carbon dioxide and equivalent gases (MtCO2e) must stay below 5,000 megatonnes. That may sound like a lot, but in 2022 alone we emitted about a tenth (450 MtCO2e) into the atmosphere. We are rapidly depleting our carbon budget.
The question of what to do with the rest Number“The distribution of “permitted emissions” – who gets which piece of the final carbon pie – should be the question of our time.For example, allow Transport sector Continue to burn fossil fuels and expect others Agriculture and other departments Or use electricity to fill the gap? Currently, these decisions are made with little public oversight through government inaction or lobbying by industry representatives. What we do know is that aviation already has a large slice of the pie.
Airports across the country are working to expand to serve more passengers.when we View data, we can see a large part of this growth serving the habit of frequent travelers. And those who fly frequently tend to be the wealthiest people in society. Before the pandemic, about 20% of people in the top income quintile flew abroad four or more times a year. For the poorest fifth of the population, only 3% take that many flights (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: A much higher proportion of high-income earners fly regularly compared to low-income earners
As a result, a large proportion of the climate damage caused by aviation comes from a small number of people, most of whom are very wealthy. Rough estimates suggest that flying business class will result in the following: 2.6 and 4.3 times It emits more CO2 per passenger than a similar trip in economy class.A typical flight on a private jet will result in Emissions increased 45 times. A handful of people are devouring all the carbon cake.
Much to the surprise of the aviation industry, a small step towards addressing this issue appears in the Spring 2024 Budget.It seems to be to free up funds for him regressive tax cutsUK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt Increase Air Passenger Duty (APD) on business class and first class tickets. While this doesn’t entirely target those frequent flyers who are most responsible for emissions, it does increase taxes on parts of the air travel market that contribute disproportionately to the climate crisis. However, a string of unnecessary and excessive economy class flights were left untouched. This includes easy flights by train to destinations in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, for example.
Hunter’s APD has not increased much; Increase Tax will rise by around £22 per person on long-haul non-economy flights by 2026 – but that's enough irritate industry.Delegates described the move as Number“Another tax on UK businesses” – even though the aviation industry already receives extremely generous tax arrangements.Exemption from VAT and fuel duty (minus APD) means the government is giving the industry Over £7 billion One year.
The reality is that the growth in the total distance traveled by all British Airways passengers needs to stop immediately. Chatham House research The study found that a responsible approach to tackling the climate crisis would mean reducing passenger kilometers by about a third by 2030, or at least until the industry proves and rolls out the technology it claims will allow us to fly with fewer emissions. Higher taxes would help reduce the need to fly and ensure the aviation industry truly pays for its climate damage.governmental own aviation strategy This is implicitly recognized, but no policy has yet been legislated.
Urgent action is needed, but it must be carefully considered. Do we want air travel to become the preserve of a wealthy elite who will be able to afford higher airfare taxes? Or do we recognize that international travel is a public good that everyone has a right to?In order to take a fair and effective approach, we need Frequent flyer tax. After the frequent flyer tax is imposed, your first return flight within a year will be subject to a lower departure tax or no departure tax. Each subsequent flight charges an increasingly higher rate.
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, many simple carbon reduction measures are now in the bank. The next general election must produce a government willing to achieve more complex climate protection goals through decisive and equitable climate action. But they need to act quickly because the rich are already eating the last piece of the carbon cake.
We want to win the frequent flyer tax. Help us raise £20,000 to achieve this through the Big Give.
Picture: iStock
